Visions

[Catriona]

"Sure thing."

Cecco puts his hands in the pockets of his trousers and strolls along the streets, his tail swaying behind him. He whistles a lewd tavern song.

"It's the skimpy sacrificial clothing that does it, really. There's nothing like virgins in skimpy sacrificial clothing. Mornin'."

He nods politely to a housewife they pass in the mists. She is rather fat, and she anxiously clutches her groceries close to her when she sees the two men.

"Yep, virgins in Demogorgon thongs. Not even Paladins can compare."

The fog is thick as ever, and it is hard for Puck to make out exactly where they are going. At one point, Cecco nearly bumps into a street lantern, stands, and examines it for a while. Then, as if coming to a decision, he turns a sharp left.

"I'm pretty sure it was around here somewhere."

[Puck]

"Mo'nin ma'am. Oh no, nothing at all. Well, actually a Paladin could be quite interesting. Something about the unobtainable part, plus the happy relationship of 'want a date?' 'SMITE!'

Of course, you could get a virgin paladin into skimpy sacrificial clothing, but then the multiverse may quake in the resulting surge of... well, something. Paradox? You know, paradox is a funny thing. It just can't! Poor paradox, that which both is and is not"

He spins round and round as he walks after the man, dancing his way across the street. He laughs when the lightpole comes up and grabs it, twirling around it several times. He didn't ask where they were going. Nor did he trust the man completely. He wasn't stupid, after all, and while their race had a reputation, it was at times deserved.

Some were more touched than others, after all.

He was curious, though. Plus, the guy had a sense of humor. He wondered idly if they really were going to an evil cult.

"Here we are, here we are,
See us climb and jump and go
There we were, there we were,
Memories of a past so long ago

Sons to our fathers, daughters to our mothers
We are as we are, and not a thing more."

[Catriona]

The woman scuttles away as fast as she can. Cecco chuckles softly.

"I've no home,
No warm place to call kip.
I've no family,
No birthright nor kin.
I am I, nothing more."

He suddenly halts by a house with a big oak door and a copper knocker.

"This is it."

He turns to Puck and grins.

"You sure you want to go in? This is an evil cult after all, and we're only junior evil-doers. You know it's funny how all the humans go 'Tiefling! Pure evil!' and the actual Fiends and all go 'Stay out of the big league, kid.' You can never get it right, can you?"

[Puck]

Dangit.

"No warm place to call kip.
I've no family,
No birthright nor kin.
I am I, nothing more.

You know, it is really hard to rant when someone says that particular poem. "

Puck stops in front of the house, looking it up and down. Interesting place.

"Well, if there is a nice big cult of evil in there, sure, why not, should be interesting and all. Should be very interesting..." Puck grinned and nodded. "Yep. Not good at anything. Well, we're awesome at making trouble. See, we're troublemakers, that's what we do. Now great world squashing evil is just out of our grasp, and obviously redemption is impossible."

[Catriona]

"I know."

Cecco grins broadly and grabs the knocker. He drops the heavy thing down, but it makes no sound whatsoever. He sighs.

"Why is Evil always so theatrical?"

Not half a minute after he banged down the mute knocker the door opens slowly, as if by itself. There is a tall, thin figure in a black cloak with red edges and red embroidered runes standing in the dooropening. It is wearing a black mask with feathers sticking up like owl's ears and slanted eye-slits with golden edges. Cecco's tail sways excitedly. The figure remains static and silent.

[Puck]

"Why not? Where's the fun without it? Good is always so righteous and corny, evil has to counter it somehow."

Puck grins happily at the man who answers the door, quite pleased that they had found real evil cultists to deal with. This should be great fun, yes indeed.

"Hi. Do you happen to have any spare sacrifical virgins? We were kind of in need of one."

[Catriona]

The man does not answer. He merely stands aside, revealing a badly lit corridor with brown tiles on the floor and the walls. There is a door a little on and to the right, and a door all the way in the end ofthe corridor. Cecco gives Puck a triumphant grin.

"Oh I guess so. You know, next time we should kick the door down and pretend to be paladins. That would be fun!"

He steps past he silent figure and into the corridor.

[Puck]

"Oh yes, that would. 'In the name of good stuffs, I smite thee to find your virgins.'"

Puck steps past the door keeper, whistling as he walked down the hall, his eyes taking in all around him. His hands were by his sides. Finding that boring, he put them above his head, his arms completely outstretched.

"You want to choose the next door, or should I?"

[Catriona]

Cecco looks from door to door, an shrugs.

"I don't know. Hey, dude-"

He turns around to the doorman and raises an eyebrow. When Puck looks, the door is closed and the silent man is gone. Cecco chuckles.

"You choose."

[Puck]

Puck opens the door to the side, more out of curiousity than anything.

"Obviously, the right way is down the hall, because that is theatric. So let's go this way and see what the place is about. I wonder if this room is empty..."

[Catriona]

The room is not empty. It is a cosy-looking livingroom with a fireplace and a round little rug, a bookcase on one side and a vase with peacock feathers on the other. The arm chair is turned with its back towards the door, so besides the black sleeve of the person sitting in it they can't see much else.

Cecco glances over Puck's shoulder. His tail sways back and forth. The person in the chair speaks in a flowing female voice.

[Abyssal] "I did not call. Get out."

[Puck]

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure you called. Aren't you sure she called? We heard calling, and like obiedient little Fiendish fellows we came, oh yes, that's what we're here for, to answer calls from melodramatic evil villians who sacrifice things. Speaking of sacrifices-" Puck pauses to take a breathe. "Do you happen to have second-hand virgins? We really kind of need one right now, and so we wondered if you would have some and obviously you are either the evil leader type or the second in command evil type, or perhaps cult leader for this specific sect type, or perhaps just the person who sits in chairs type who is high enough to not call type. Hm, I'm more the flowers and kittens type. I also like butterflies. Oh, I have some spare butterfly wings on top of this one roof, I can trade you if you want, I'm sure everyone looks good with butterfly wings, especially evil people. Like dressing in bright and cheery colors to throw your enemies into confusion. You throw enemies into confusion very often? Pretty funny, especially their faces. You know, I hope you have a sense of humor, cultists without sense of humor, while making great straight men... er, or women..." Breathe. "... they can be even more fun when they understand the joke. I should know, had this one friend who was quite funny, was this vicious... oh, nevermind, that was when I was drunk. I never had that friend. But in any case, it would still be cool, don't you think? Of course you think, you spoke not two seconds ago and that often requires, but not always, thought. Course, they say that light travels faster than thought, which is why a person can look brigh until they open their mouth. Or was that sound? Oh well, same difference really. So, do you secretly dress as a Paladin in a Demogorgon thong every other saturday? My friend and I were discussing it, and I was pretty sure it was plausible, and thought 'wouldn't it be funny if the leader did that?' and let me tell you, I'm glad you're a woman. A man in a Demogorgon Thong is just not right. Oh, if you do, or actually even if you don't, how about a date? Always wondered what dating a cultist high priest leader lady would be like. Pretty sure the sex is just wonderful, too, but I wouldn't know yet. Would you? Hm, hopefully not the type who are all prudish forms of evil cults. Those are confusing.

...oh, right, virgins. So, do you have any on hand?"

[Catriona]

Cecco puts his hand over his mouth, squeezes his eyes shut and bends double to avoid laughing outloud. There is some silence, and then the woman rises from the chair. She has not turned around yet, she is simply standing. The first thing Puck sees is a head of silky black curls, and then a finely-formed shoulder. It is a slender figure in a long black and red dress- a low-cut red evening dress with a thin sleeved cloak of more or less transparent black veils.

She makes an elegant gesture with one hand, and then she turns around. She is holding a book in one hand. Her hair falls to her shoulder, and she watches Puck and Cecco with quiet, dark eyes. She is without a doubt one of the most beautiful women Puck has ever set eyes on, and Cecco promptly stops laughing, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open a little. A slight smile makes it to the woman's lips.

"A date? Where would you be taking me?"

[Puck]

Puck's jaw hits the floor, or comes as close to it as possible. It takes him all of 30 seconds to recover, which means 30 seconds of silence from him, which is miraculous.

Then he grins, ear to ear.

"Well, there's the brothels, but I don't think you would like that unless you intended to stab me anyways, which you just might. Know a lot of tave... a LOT of taverns, even if they are run by the same family. Theatres keep telling you to be quiet, and I'm sure you've seen far too much of all that crap, and far too much of that ritzy resturaunt, so let's go to The Haze. Or wherever you want to go, really, but I think the Haze would be just perfect!

You know how to dance? Hope you can hold your liquor, too! Lots of fun, yes. Course, if you don't and can't, they lead into each other quite well."

[Catriona]

The woman smiles and takes a few steps forwards. Her hips sway slightly as she moves and the veils sway along.

"You're on."

Cecco has stopped breathing for almost a minute, and starts coughing.